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| Industry | Aerospace anddefense |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1895; 130 years ago (1895) |
| Founder | Alfred S. Harris |
| Defunct | June 28, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06-28) |
| Fate | Merged withL3 Technologies |
| Successor | L3Harris Technologies |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Florida, U.S. |
Key people | William M. Brown, Chairman,(president &CEO since November 1, 2011) |
| Products | Defense andCommunications |
| Revenue | US$4.936 billion (2019) US$4.507 billion (2018) |
Number of employees | 17,000[1] (2017) |
| Divisions | Communication Systems, Electronic Systems, Space and Intelligence Systems |
| Website | harris |
Harris Corporation was an American technology company,defense contractor, andinformation technologyservices provider that producedwireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems,night vision equipment and both terrestrial and spaceborneantennas for use in the government, defense, emergency service, and commercial sectors. They specialized in surveillance solutions,[2] microwave weaponry,[3] and electronic warfare.[4] In 2019, it merged withL3 Technologies to formL3Harris Technologies.
Headquartered inMelbourne, Florida, the company had approximately $7 billion of annual revenue. It was the largest private-sector employer inBrevard County, Florida (approximately 6,000).[5] From 1988 to 1999, the company was the parent ofIntersil, under the name Harris Semiconductor.
In 2016, Harris was named one of the top hundred federal contractors byDefense News.[6] In January 2015,Wired Magazine ranked Harris Corporation—tied withU.S. Marshals Service—as the number two threat to privacy and communications on theInternet.[7]
The "Harris Automatic Press Company" was founded by Alfred S. Harris inNiles, Ohio, in 1895. The company spent the next 60 years developinglithographic processes andprinting presses before acquiringtypesetting companyIntertype Corporation.
In 1957, Harris acquiredGates Radio, a producer ofbroadcast transmitters and associated electronics gear, but kept the Gates brand name alive by putting the Gates sticker on the back of numerous transmitters that were labeled Harris on the front panels.[8]
The same year, they acquiredIntertype Corporation, atypesetting machine manufacturer based inNew York, New York.[citation needed]
In 1959, they acquiredmicrowave technology company PRD Electronics, also headquartered inBrooklyn, New York.[citation needed]
In 1967, they merged with Radiation Incorporated (formed in 1950) ofMelbourne, Florida, a developer of antenna,integrated circuit andmodem technology used in thespace race. The company headquarters was moved from Cleveland to Melbourne in 1978.[9]
In 1969, Harris Corporation acquired RF Communications and Farinon Electric Corporation, furthering its microwave assets. The printing operations were sold off in 1983 and became part of manroland Goss in 2018.[10]
In 1974, Harris acquiredDatacraft Corporation, which led to the formation of theHarris Computer Systems Division. The division made a line of minicomputers for the real-time systems market. In 1994, the division was spun out into the independentHarris Computer Systems Corporation.[11]
In 1979, Harris formed a semiconductor joint venture Matra Harris Semiconductors (MHS), from which Harris withdrew in 1989. After further changes MHS was taken over byAtmel.[12]
In 1983, Harris acquired Lanier Business Products, Inc., a dictation, word processing and computer company based in Atlanta, Georgia. By the start of the 1990s, Lanier accounted for about 1/3 of Harris Corporation's revenues. In 1998, Harris spun Lanier back off as a publicly-traded company, but also saddled it with over $700 million in debt.[13]
In 1988, Harris acquiredGE's semiconductor business, which at this time, also incorporated theIntersil andRCA semiconductor businesses. These were combined with Harris' existing semiconductor businesses.
In 1996, Harris Corporation formed ajoint venture with Shenzhen Telecom Company to produce and sell Harris' digital microwave radios and integrate them with other systems.[citation needed][clarification needed]
In November 1998, Harris sold its commercial and standard military logic (semiconductor) product lines toTexas Instruments, which included theHC/HCT, AC/ACT, FCT, andCD4000 product families. Harris retained production of theradiation-hardened versions of these products.
In 1999, Harris spun off their remainingsemiconductor business as an independent company, under theIntersil name.
In 2005, the corporation spent $870 million on research and development.[14]
Harris Corporation developed a Hand Held Computer for use during the address canvassing portion of the2010 United States Census.[15] Secured access via afingerprint swipe guaranteed that only the verified user had access to the unit. AGPS capacity was integral to the daily address management and the transfer of information that was gathered. Of major importance was the security and integrity of the personal and private information of the populace.
In January 2011, Harris re-opened itsCalgary,Alberta avionics operation, Harris Canada Inc.. The expanded facility's operations include among others the support of the work to be completed under the company's six-year, $273 million (CAD) services contract with the Government of Canada for theCF-18 Avionics Optimized Weapon System Support (OWSS) program.[16]
In December 2012, Harris Corporation sold its broadcast equipment operations to theGores Group which operated asHarris Broadcast[17] and is nowGatesAir. Harris received $225M for the transaction, exactly half of what it paid seven years earlier for Leitch Technology, its final acquisition for the Broadcast division.[18][19]
On May 29, 2015, the purchase of competitorExelis Inc. was finalized, almost doubling the size of the original company.[20]
In July 2015, Harris Corporation sold its healthcare division, Harris Healthcare Solutions, toNantHealth.[21]
In January 2017, Harris sold off its governmentIT services division toVeritas Capital for $690 million.[22] After being acquired by Veritas, this business was renamedPeraton.[23]
In October 2018 Harris announced an all-stock "merger of equals" with New York-basedL3 Technologies, to be closed (subject to approvals) in mid-2019. The new company, called L3 Harris Technologies, Inc., is based in Melbourne, Florida.[24]
In 2019,Elbit Systems of America, the American division of the Israeli Elbit Systems, agreed to purchase Harris's night vision product line for $350 million, contingent on the completion of Harris's merger with L3. Federal regulations had required that Harris divest its night vision business as L3 already had its own night vision business and merger between the two companies would effectively eliminate competition in the industry.[25] That purchase closed in September 2019, and Harris Night Vision was subsequently renamed Elbit Systems of America - Night Vision.[26][27]
In 2021, CEO sold almost 200 million dollars worth of stock.[28]
The Harris Communication Systems segment served markets in tactical and airborne radios, night vision technology and defense and public safety networks.
The Harris Electronic Systems segment provided products and services in electronic warfare, air traffic management, avionics, wireless technology, C4I, undersea systems and aerostructures.
Electronic Systems (ES) division provided the "ALQ-214" radio frequency jamming equipment for theU.S. Navy'sF/A-18 Hornet aircraft. The ALQ-214 was originally developed byExelis ES, which Harris acquired in 2015.[29] ES is also a provider of components in theavionics package and targeting systems for the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 andEA-18 Growlers.[30]
The Harris Space and Intelligence Systems segment, formed when Harris purchased Exelis,[31] provides capabilities in Earth observation, weather, geospatial monitoring, space protection and intelligence, including sensors and payloads, ground processing and information analytics.[32]
Harris Corporation produced multiple cell-site simulator products, such as theStingRay and Hailstorm phone trackers (see table below); These masquerade as legitimatecellphone towers duping mobile devices to connect to them instead of realcellular networks, so all wireless voice and data traffic originating in a given area are intercepted by the systems, enabling Stingray operators to conduct mass surveillance and triangulate the position of mobile devices.[33][34]
Originally developed for theU.S. Navy and later used in the global "war on terror" outside the US, they have increasingly been used by US police agencies.[35] More than six U.S. federal agencies use these platforms, including theFBI,Drug Enforcement Administration andImmigration and Customs Enforcement. TheAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says at least 53 law enforcement agencies in 21 states, use this or similar devices.[36]
These platforms are controversial[37][38] as they surveil communications of all mobile devices in their vicinity, including those of individuals not suspected of any crimes.[39][40] Harris have been criticized bycivil rights advocates for requiring local municipalities, police and state governments to enter intonon-disclosure agreements (NDA)[41] and to conceal usage of these platforms from citizens and the courts.[42][43] Such NDA may violatepublic record andopen access laws. The ACLU,Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC),Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed two successful civillawsuits over deniedFreedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and violations of thepublic records laws of Florida.[44][45][46]
In September 2014, as a result of successful litigation, ACLU received documents and emails between Harris Corporation and theFederal Communications Commission relating to FCC approval of Harris' surveillance systems.[47] ACLU then sent a letter to FCC stating, in their view, Harris misled FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff during the regulatory review process by falsely claiming the systems were only used in emergency situations and not criminal investigations.[48]
In 2006, Harris employees directly conducted wireless surveillance using StingRay units on behalf of thePalm Bay Police Department—where Harris has a campus[49]—in response to a bomb threat against a middle school. The search was conducted without awarrant or judicial oversight.[50][51][52][53]
In 2015,Santa Clara County withdrew from contract negotiations with Harris for StingRay units, noting the reason was the onerous restrictions imposed by Harris on what could be released under public records requests.[54]
| Product | Introduced | Cost | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| StingRay | 2001 | $68,479 | IMSI-catcher. Gathers information from mobile phones including location andmetadata |
| StingRay II | 2007 | $134,952 | IMSI-catcher. Gathers information from mobile phones including location and metadata |
| Kingfish | 2003 | $25,349 | Surveillancetransceiver fortracking mobile phones |
| Amberjack | 2002 | $35,015 | Directional antenna used to help track mobile phones; used in conjunction with StingRay, Gossamer and Kingfish |
| Harpoon | 2008 | $16,000–19,000 | Linear amplifier to boost the signal of a StingRay or Kingfish |
| Hailstorm | ? | $169,602 | IMSI catcher. Gathers information from mobile phones including location and metadata. Also can intercept content. |
| Gossamer | 2001 | $19,696 | IMSI catcher, smaller than StingRay, can be used fordenial-of-service attacks on phones. |
| Triggerfish | 1997 | $90,000–102,000 | Intercepts mobile conversations in real time. May be obsolete |
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The portable StingRay device impersonates a cellphone tower, electronically fooling all nearby mobile phones — not just the suspect's phone — to send their signals into an LAPD computer. That signal reveals to police the location of phones in real time.
...police were claiming that non-disclosure agreements prevented them from getting a warrant to use the technology.
Police opted not to get warrants authorizing either their use of the stingray or the apartment search. Incredibly, this was apparently because they had signed a nondisclosure agreement with the company that gave them the device.
...Palm Bay Police Department simply borrowed a stingray directly from its manufacturer, the Harris Corporation—located down the road in Melbourne, Florida—to respond to a 2006 bomb threat at a school, absent any judicial oversight.
What happened was, we were in negotiations with Harris and we couldn't get them to agree to even the most basic criteria we have in terms of being responsive to public records requests
This price list for Harris Corporation wireless surveillance products was published on the website of the City of Miami.
...police didn't comply with the state's public-records law because they did not fully disclose Stingray-related records and allowed Harris Corp. to dictate what information could be made public.
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